Hello, world! June was a crazy month for me personally, but we still managed to get tons of new stuff on the blog – because I get obsessive about working on this blog. There was also a shit-ton of great new psychedelic music being released, as is the case in most months.

In this month’s installment of best psych rock, we bring you a sampling across many subgenres – from Mexican neo-psych to cosmic cowboys in England to stoners in Baltimore. Across the map, creative people are making psychedelic music of all kinds, bringing it from remote locations, bustling cities, Hungarian collectives, and probably a few bedrooms and garages.

An obvious note: By “best psychedelic” of June, we merely mean the records we enjoyed the most. As Louis Armstrong once said, if it sounds good, it is good. I think I completely paraphrased and butchered that quote, and I’m not even sure if Louis said that, but let’s just go with it.

Now, let’s get to the list! Remember to support these artists in any way you can, including buying their merch and music on Bandcamp or giving them a follow on one of the numerous social media platforms. Enjoy.

Best Psych Rock of June 2023

Kukulkan by UAY

Release Date: June 6, 2023
Subgenre: Neo-psychedelic
Bandcamp Link

I enjoyed many releases from June, but this one may be my favorite. UAY is a psych rock act that emerged from the experimental music scene in Guadalajara, Mexico and brings the spicy taste of Mexican music and plenty of South American flavorings combined with hypnotic beats and atmospheres.

Kukulkan is their sophomore full-length album, bringing high-energy psych rock from a band that formed their own festival called Mexicadelia. They’ve had success in the American Pacific Northwest and opened for acts like Osees and Khruangbin, so you may be hearing more about them soon. The album was released by Seattle-based Half Shell Records, a label that I didn’t know about before but seems to pump out some good jams.

Nada Escrito by Dorotheo

Release Date: June 16, 2023
Subgenre: Psych Rock/Experimental
Bandcamp Link

Another Mexican band I’m digging with a new record released through Half Shell Records is Dorotheo. This is their third LP and shows an evolution of the band’s sound from a psychedelic foundation into the realm of hauntology music. There’s lots of experimentation here reminiscent of bands like Stereo Lab and Broadcast, and the band pulls influences from Latin and Middle Eastern music. You’ll hear haunting vocals, spacey keyboards, hypnotic wind instruments, and much more, creating a sonic landscape fascinating and slightly creepy.

Some music just sounds better at night – especially night owl hours – and Nada Escrito is one of those records. Songs like “Intención” give off definite Latin vibes but bring in a slick vibe like something from a neo-futuristic nightclub. “Cristina” is languorous and bone-chillingly cool, like wearing sunglasses at night. Save this one for those lonely summer nights with the windows open and not a thing to do.

The Far Sound

Release Date: June 2, 2023
Subgenre: Exotica/Desert
Bandcamp Link

The Far Sound is the debut self-titled album from pedal steel guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Rick Pedrosa that further solidifies Centripetal Force Records as one of the most interesting small labels out there.

Pedrosa draws from a wide array of influences to create strange, high-desert instrumental music that’s both soothing and terrifying at times. You’ll hear banjo, pedal steel, organ, and a mishmash of Middle Eastern sounds combined with the influence of Italian composers like Ennio Morricone. As I said in my full review of the record, this is music for an imaginary abstract Western film, each song conjuring stark images that you won’t want to miss.

Spacious Minds by Jeffrey Alexander and The Heavy Lidders

Release Date: June 16, 2023
Subgenre: Devotional/Experimental
Bandcamp link

Any EP that starts with a 36-minute rendition of The Grateful Dead’s “Dark Star” deserves a spot on a list like this. Philly-based Jeffrey Alexander and his new-ish band, The Heavy Lidders, bring jams for days on Spacious Minds. And though this is technically an EP, there are 76 minutes of music spread over five excellent tracks that will have you drifting off into another world.

Alexander’s Heavy Lidders comprises top musicians from Elkhorn and Kohoutek, who create improvised goodness on this live recording from a garden party hosted by Record Crates United in suburban New Jersey. The suburbs can be boring sometimes, but this more than-hour-long performance brought a slice of psychedelic to suburbia in a big way that day.

Read the full Third Eye review here.

List Do Borykan by The Howling Eye

Release Date: June 9, 2023
Subgenre: Stoner/Psychedelic Funk
Bandcamp Link

The Howling Eye is an excellent band from Poland that mixes groovy drums, chunky basslines, and space-out guitar melodies to create a unique blend of psychedelic rock. They say their sound combines All Them Witches’ storytelling, KGLW’s style bending, and Frank Zappa’s avant-garde attitude.

Here’s what Tom said about List Do Borykan in his full review: “Their chill vibe, incredible musicianship, and sense of how to best serve the song are a big part of what makes the List Do Borykan album so good, and these qualities will resonate with other musicians and fans alike.” It’s good stuff.

Read the full Third Eye review here.

Dreams and Realities I by Polymerase

Release Date: June 20, 2023
Subgenre: Heavy Psych/Stoner
Bandcamp Link

Polymerase describes themselves as “just some dudes trying to jam and create stoner music.” That’s a simple formula, and maybe we should all adopt a philosophy like that. Dreams and Realities I is part of a 2-part album project that initially started recording in 2021. The band’s idea was to create a story of a space traveler that experienced time differently.

There’s much more to the story, but I’ll let you head to Bandcamp to read the full description. The music itself is great, too heavy at times, but also chill and atmospheric with plenty of space rock tendencies. I love it when bands totally nerd out and create narrative concept albums like this, so this is one I plan on digging more into in the next few weeks.

Gazer by Mothman and The Thunderbirds

Release Date: June 23, 2023
Subgenre: Space Rock/Stoner
Bandcamp Link

I’ve gotten to know Alex from the Philly-based Mothman and The Thunderbirds. Not only is he a cool guy and grew up in the town next to mine, coincidentally, but his band just released an excellent EP called Gazer that contains a ballsy and awesome cover of Smash Mouth’s “All-Star.”

Tom wrote a review of the EP, which also has a cover of the classic Byrds track “Mr. Spaceman.” From what I heard of Mothman’s previous music, this EP was a departure from their usual metal sound and a venture into space rock. It’s definitely one worth checking out.

Read the full Third Eye review here.

Endless Skyways by Bobby Lee

Release Date: June 23, 2023
Subgenre: Cosmic Country/Americana
Bandcamp Link

Can cosmic American music come from the U.K.? Sure, why the hell not? We started as English colonies anyway, right? Bobby Lee is one of the best in the business in this surging field of instrumental guitar-based cosmic goodness, and his new album, Endless Skyways, is another brilliant offering from the Sheffield, U.K.-based musician.

Endless Skyways is Bobby Lee’s third full album, where he returns to the full band sound of his debut record. To show how well Bobby is versed in American roots music traditions, the title Endless Skyways is borrowed from a line in Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The album is deep-fried rural rock mixed with ambient country. The Bandcamp description says it best and in a way that very much appeals to this blog: “Dusty boots but the third eye open.”

Gary Ownes: I Have Some Thoughts by Graves

Release Date: June 30, 2023
Subgenre: Freak Folk/Cosmic Country
Bandcamp Link

Perpetual Doom is a Brooklyn-based label I’ve been checking out more, and they recently released an excellent Cosmic Americana album from Graves. It’s the project of California’s Greg Olin, who has been releasing music under the moniker for about two decades. “These sixteen tracks sway with the moonstruck sweetness of classic country, blending the sounds of golden age AM radio with a laidback West Coat vibe,” Perpetual Doom says on Bandcamp.

Graves brings a deadpan vocal delivery that slightly reminds me of Bill Callahan and some sweet, boot-shaking guitar playing. The album is mellow at times and sour at others, bittersweet, and addresses aging and mortality in clever ways that may remind you of witty songwriters like the late John Prine. Enjoy.

Primordial States by Psychedelic Source Records

Release Date: June 20, 2023
Subgenre: Jam/Stoner
Bandcamp Link

You can always rely on the Hungarian label Psychedelic Source Records if you’re looking for far-out, improvisational psych jams. Their latest release, Primordial States, from June 20th, offers two live tracks and two lengthy studio session jams where they say they “turn mad with a :neppal-ish session.”

Since the label is a psychedelic rock collective, I like to think of them as tapping into some astral power source deep in the forest in a commune somewhere in Hungary. I don’t know much about them other than their music, but they carry on the true, pure spirit of psychedelia better than almost anyone else making this genre of music today.

Themes from Blue Honey by Dave Heumann

Release Date: June 22, 2023
Subgenre: Drone/Experimental
Bandcamp Link

Themes from Blue Honey is an excellent new record if you’re looking for some chill instrumental psychedelia. Guitarist Dave Heumann recorded the six tracks on a single, probably peaceful, evening in November 2022 using two amplifiers. The music was edited for length and feel, but it wasn’t cross-faded, and any segues happen as they were played and not because of editing.

There’s a slight binaural audio effect added in post-processing that, at times, gives headphone listeners the illusion of back-to-front and front-to-back movements, but Heumann says the effect is subtle. The result of all this is parse, minimalist psych guitar explorations that are a joy to listen to.

Aphelion by Severed Satellites

Release Date: June 21, 2023
Subgenre: Stoner/Heavy Psych
Bandcamp Link

Severed Satellites is a Baltimore-based rock quartet that plays psych on the heavier side, incorporating blues, some doom, and sometimes straight stoner rock. The riffs are strong on Aphelion, an instrumental record with five tracks that should please any Weedian follower.

Given that Severed Satellites is based in Maryland, I’m guessing they’re inspired by the Maryland stoner legends Clutch – but that’s just a guess. I could hear Clutch influences in the rhythm, groove, and chunkiness of this record’s riffs, though – the band lays it on thick and plays with tremendous energy.

That’s a wrap! Let us know if any albums deserve mention here that we may have left out – we’re always open to suggestions. And head over to Bandcamp to support some of these artists and these fantastic albums!

Parting words: “If God dropped acid, would he see people?” – Steven Wright

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